Trailer

Ultimate Opera Collection

  • Year: 2007
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Language: English
  • Format: Pal/colour

Synopsis

CARMEN by Georges Bizet 

Love, jealousy and death. Biset's timeless work has all the ingredients for classic opera. Surprisingly, the worlds most popular opera inflamed critics on it's premier at the Opera Comique, Paris in 1875. Carmen is a beautiful, passionate and free spirited Spanish Gypsy. When army sergeant, Don Jose, falls for her and she in turn falls for Escamillo, a bullfighter, tragedy is inevitable.

EXTRAS: Bizet Documentary, Interviews (German language)
PRODUCTION: 1998 St. Margarethen Opera Festival. Orchestra della Stagione d'Opera Italiana
RUNNING TIME: 80 mins. AUDIO: Dolby Digital 2.0 & 5.1


AIDA by Giuseppe Verdi

‘Aida' was a commissioned work for the Egyptian viceroy Ishmael Pasha and was first performed, to rapturous acclaim, at the Cairo Opera House in 1871. Verdi's classic tells the story of Aida, an Ethiopian princess, who is captured and brought into slavery in Egypt. A military commander, Radames, struggles to choose between his love for her and his loyalty to the Pharaoh.

EXTRAS: Interviews (German language)
PRODUCTION: 1997 St. Margarethen Opera Festival. Orchestra della Stagione d'Opera Italiana
RUNNING TIME: 60 mins. AUDIO: Dolby Digital 2.0


DON GIOVANNI by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Considered by some to be the greatest opera work every produced, ‘Don Giovanni' premiered at Prague's Estate Theatre in 1787. Of the many operas based on the legend of Don Juan, Mozart's ‘Don Giovanni' is thought to be beyond comparison. Set in Seville, this masterpiece combines high drama with comedy to illustrate the escapades and eventual fiery end of the mythical womanizer.

PRODUCTION: 1991 Prague National Theatre. Orchestra, Choir & Ballet of the Prague National Theatre
RUNNING TIME: 152 mins AUDIO: Dolby Digital 2.0


TOSCA by Giacomo Puccini

Puccini's classic premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome in 1900 the location of its setting 100 years earlier. To free the man she loves, Tosca, a famously passionate singer, must love the man she hates but is she prepared to make that kind of sacrifice? ‘Tosca' is a tale of love, jealousy, betrayal and murder, a tragic love story and nail-biting thriller, from the famous dark opening chords to its unforgettable conclusion.

EXTRAS: Puccini Documentary, Puccini Works List, Act by Act Synopsis, Biographies & History
PRODUCTION: 1989 O'Keefe Centre, Toronto. Canadian Opera Company
RUNNING TIME: 114 mins. AUDIO: Dolby Digital 2.0 & 5.1

NABUCCO by Giuseppe Verdi

‘Nabucco' was Verdi's third opera and is considered to be the one that permanently established his reputation as a composer. The story follows the plight of the Jews as they are exiled from their homeland by the cruel Babylonian King Nabucco (more commonly know as Nebuchadnezzar). Its first performance took place in 1842 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan and it was an instant triumph.

EXTRAS: Interviews (German language)
PRODUCTION: 2000 St. Margarethen Opera Festival. Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
RUNNING TIME: 123 mins. AUDIO: Dolby Digital 2.0 & 5.1

Available to buy: DVD: 14/05/2007